I've been thinking a lot lately about the very things this article addresses. I'm a member of a parent's group on FB where people post questions, comments, etc...on rearing children. I'll admit, I often laugh and even mock some of the stuff they talk about on there. I often think to myself that they are making parenting way too hard...you know...elimination communication, lotus birthing (look them up), etc...Stuff I don't really relate to. The other day an interesting conversation emerged about someone whose tom-boy 4.5 year old daughter was invited to a princess party and how the mom was totally freaked out by this prospect. Again, I mostly rolled my eyes at this discussion, but it did get me thinking.
Then there is this little gem of an article which has been circulating all over FB and the blogosphere. Don't even get me started. And for the record, I think he is a boy.
Finally, this article was posted on the FB parenting group and I really enjoyed it and I think it raises many valid points concerning the way we talk to girls in our society. I remember that nothing annoyed me more then when I would come home for vacation from college and the only thing people would ask me is if I was dating someone. No asking me what I was studying, about my internship in DC, about my work/job, nothing along those lines at all. I hated it. I often felt like everyone else (and let's be honest I'm talking about people in the ward I grew up in) thought my college experience would be a complete failure if I didn't leave it married...never mind the world class education I received. OK, I might be going off on a bit of a tangent but you get the idea. Thoughts?
4 comments:
I saw that article about the baby gender secret...a little warped for me. The article by Ms. Bloom was excellent and I agree one hundred percent. I try to keep that philosophy in mind when I converse with my grandkids, boys or girls. Too often boys are about sports or being tough or cool bikes. I liked her lead-in about reading. I'll try that with Asher and Beckham the next visit we have. Get them prepped Mom.
I think it's all bunk. I think people are trying really hard to find a solution to society's problems and coming up with the wrong answers. Girl's self-esteem is not going to come from never being told they are pretty, it's going to come from being taught the principles of the Gospel, their divine nature, and true purpose on earth. Everything else is details. So I will continue to tell all the pretty girls I know just how pretty they are, because it's fun to be pretty. And I also tell them how funny they are and how smart they are and how super strong they are, etc. Girls don't get obsessed with image if they are told they are pretty. They get obsessed with image if their mother is, or if they watch trashy TV. They need to know they are beautiful just the way they are, as Daughters of God.
I only saw the girl article twice, was there another one? Anyway, the genderless baby is RIDICULOUS. I really like the article about the girls. And I must agree, we do focus on image when talking to girls. I will have to take those points into consideration talking to my own there little gems.
As a father of a daughter, albeit a young one, I understand your frustration Devry. There is more to a woman than who she is dating, especially one that attends an Ivy league school, even if its Penn. I can't help but think it has a lot to do with the culture you were raised in and the county you lived in. I hope to raise my daughter to challenge these things and not to take a back seat to this masculine dominated country. That being said, my daughter is a girl. She didn't choose this, this was thrust upon her, hopefully she is thankful for that.
Post a Comment